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11/21/2013

Russian delegation visits DLIFLC

Russian Federation Maj. Gen. Elena Knyazeva, the deputy chief of Science and Training of the Military University Ministry of Defense, visited the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Nov. 21, with a group of Russian military educators who wanted to learn more about how their U.S. counterpart teaches foreign languages.

"It is a great honor to be here," said Knyazeva, recounting that she knew, while she was a military language student in Moscow, that a U.S. counterpart existed in Monterey. "We were always curious to know what our colleagues were doing in the field and what types of achievements they had made," she said with a smile. "Coming here is like a dream come true."

Army Lt. Col. Jason Weece, the director of the Institute's Foreign Area Officer Program, briefed the Russian visitors about the DLIFLC mission and responded to the many questions about the length of courses, linguist attrition rates, and the use of technology in the classroom.

The visitors had an opportunity to visit a basic and advanced Russian course, speak with experts in the fields of faculty and curriculum development, and view a demonstration of the last foreign language materials used for distance online learning by linguists around the world.

The visit to Monterey came a day after the Russian delegation spend a day touring the Defense Language Institute English Language Center in San Antonio, Texas, where U.S. and foreign service members are trained to improve their English language proficiency skills.